I want to try being vegan but it looks too hard. Is it?

Few vegans will admit this but actually, yes, it can be. Most will say how easy it is, forgetting that when you’ve been doing anything a long time it becomes easy. It’s especially easy to forget the days when eating an unseasoned lentil bolognese five days on the trot was the only option you had. And having to come up with something else after a long day at work was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Eating out with meat eating friends can conjure up a new sense of dread and coming up with an answer to where we get our protein from from is especially taxing. The reality is it initially takes a lot of research, commitment, time and energy to replace a delicious, familiar, socially acceptable diet with filling, satisfying vegan alternatives. That’s not to say it can’t be done but it takes a little more effort than you might think to change your diet so you can stick at it consistently and enjoy it too.

Is being vegan healthy?

Many vegans are committed to eating as many beige, deep-fried items as possible so I’d say you can be as healthy or unhealthy as your heart desires.

Vegan woes

Everywhere I look in the vegan space there’s a beautiful smug vegans, seemingly thriving and telling me repeatedly how easy it is to be vegan. Showing me video after video of the not so simple concoction you can make with store cupboard ingredients. Firstly, when I first became vegan my store cupboard consisted of a tin of sweetcorn, some dried pasta and several bottles of alcohol that didn’t fit on my alcohol shelf. 

It wasn’t until seven years in I realised I wasn’t getting enough protein and I constantly wondered why I felt like I was dying for so long. I thought it was down to being a parent and assuming it was just my place to suffer. 

So many vegans fall off the wagon or revert to their old eating habits and that’s fine. But this space is a pragmatic one where I tell the damn truth. 

Ask me a question and I’ll do my best to answer

Where do I start?

By realising that with all the best intentions that your cravings for cheese, bacon >insert other addictive non-vegan food stuff< will not go away overnight. And that is ok, no matter what the other vegans tell you. You can start by not making any rash decisions, as that will likely end up with you eating a chicken burger in secret one Thursday lunchtime while panicking about your life choices. As a suggestion, do some planning, make a list and make a couple of changes to your food shop each time. When you’re feeling more confident, finish up all the remaining animal products in your fridge and cupboards and try to avoid buying them again but find replacement for them first. Start with a plant-based milk and butter because all supermarkets have vegan versions. Becoming vegan is easy, staying vegan is the hard part.

Will tofu make my boobs grow?

A common misconception and one I believed too. But no.

What will my friends and family think?

They will likely think you are a lunatic who has joined the dark side. It’s possible they will berate you for your choices until you cook them a dish so delicious they’ll reluctantly back track. Nerves of steel are key here. People’s perception of you might temporarily change but the ones who matter will tolerate your lifestyle and still love you for it.